Books and the Christian
A fruitful ministry requires knowledge of God, oneself, and others, gained through sympathetic contact and communion with great minds.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the distinction between mere information and true knowledge in the Christian ministry, arguing that successful Christians must engage deeply with God, themselves, and others through prayer, meditation, and communion with great minds. He critiques the reliance on books that only provide information without inspiration, advocating for literature that encourages personal thought and spiritual growth. Tozer believes that the best books are those that elevate the soul and foster independence in learning rather than dependency on the teacher.
Text
The book that informs us without inspiring us may be indispensable to the scientist, the lawyer, the physician, but mere information is not enough for the minister. If knowledge about things constituted learning, the encyclopedia would be all the library one needed for a fruitful ministry. The successful Christian, however, must know God, himself and his fellow men. Such knowledge is not gained by assembling data but by sympathetic contact, by intuition, by meditation, by silence, by inspiration, by prayer and long communion. I therefore recommend reading, not for diversion, nor for information alone, but for communion with great minds.
The book that leads the soul out into the sunlight, points upward and bows out is always the best book.
The man who can teach me to teach myself will help me more in the long run than the man who spoon-feeds me and makes me dependent upon him. The teacher's best service is to make himself unnecessary. The book that serves as a ramp from which my mind can take off is the best book for me. The book that follows me into the pulpit and intrudes itself into my sermon is my enemy and an enemy to my hearers. The book that frees me to think my own inspired thoughts is my friend.
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Knowledge
- The Type of Knowledge Needed
- How to Gain This Knowledge
- Sympathetic contact
- Intuition
- Meditation
- Silence
- Inspiration
- Prayer and long communion
Key Quotes
“The book that leads the soul out into the sunlight, points upward and bows out is always the best book.” — A.W. Tozer
“The man who can teach me to teach myself will help me more in the long run than the man who spoon-feeds me and makes me dependent upon him.” — A.W. Tozer
“The book that frees me to think my own inspired thoughts is my friend.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- To gain a fruitful ministry, focus on developing a deep understanding of God, yourself, and others.
- Reading should be done for communion with great minds, not just for diversion or information.
- A teacher's best service is to make themselves unnecessary by teaching others to think for themselves.